The five icons who inspired Drew Barrymore’s career: “I really loved the curiosity”
Drew Barrymore’s career might have started before she even knew what a career was, but she still has plenty of people whom she considers inspirational to the trajectory she took.
Born to the Barrymore acting family, the actor famously got her breakthrough at seven years old, starring in her godfather Steven Spielberg’s iconic ET the Extra-Terrestrial, but she was acting in commercials as young as an 11-month-old.
After her early roles in ET and Firestarter, Barrymore went through a tumultuous and troubled teenage life, which was reflected in the unfortunately sexualised roles she took on. From there she went on to further establish herself in the likes of The Wedding Singer, Charlie’s Angels and Never Been Kissed.
She’s been in a Batman movie, a few more of Adam Sandler’s vehicles, Scream, Donnie Darko, and she’s even tried her hand at directing. While she’s pivoted to businesses and a podcast in more recent years, it’s safe to say she’s had a long, storied career with many, many kinds of roles. And so, it seems her influences have had the same shape-shifting quality.
“I always was drawn to people who…you never knew what they were going to look like as a character or in a movie or the way they were wearing their hair and makeup, the style,” she told Allure, noting, “I really loved the curiosity, the burning question of what are they going to do next, and then when they present that.”
Specifically, there are five people she names who influenced her in this way. Madonna was up first, and rightly so, as we still never quite know what Madonna might do next, 40 years into her career. From the ‘Material Girl’ with peroxide hair and big brows to the Marilyn Monroe-esque Blond Ambition era and the more bohemian era of the late ’90s, she’s never really stopped to give just one look or career a go.
Elton John, the next person on Barrymore’s list, might be a little more subdued than the ‘Queen of Pop’, but he’s gone through a few makeovers of his own. Sure, he’s been rocking his short crop, chunky glasses and suits for years, but once upon a time, he was a glam rock star, clad in technicolour jumpsuits and bug-eyed glasses. Another was Barbra Streisand, who has maybe donned a more subdued aesthetic for most of her career, but the same can’t be said for his artistry. An actor, singer, songwriter, and director, there’s seemingly little the multi-hyphenate cannot do, and the same goes for Jane Fonda, the fourth name on her list.
A chameleon on the screen, and aesthetically, she continues to surprise everybody with her persistent activism. Looking at her titular role in Barbarella to her terrific turn in Klute, and most recently, Grace & Frankie, her career is certainly not one to be sniffed at, and neither is Cher’s, the fifth and final icon on her list, who is arguably the most iconic on her list. Also a multi-hyphenate and fashion icon, thanks in large part to her Bob Mackie collaborations, she’s been shapeshifting her whole career, which has spanned over seven decades, remaining unequivocally herself through it all.
All five have had long, unique and illustrious careers, and they’re all still going. We still have another 30 years or so to decide whether Barrymore’s own career stands up to her greatest inspirations, but she’s definitely carved a unique path for herself.
